NCSU CALS Animal Science alum Kelly Blanton

Building The Next-Generation Student

Fall 2018 Issue

At CALS, we grow workforce-ready students.

To prove it, we asked the experts: job recruiters for key employers around the region and the world. They told us that the next-generation student needs strong communication skills. Real-world experience. The fire and vision of an entrepreneur and a mind trained to think and do with a global perspective.

Our students and alumni live up to that standard – and then some. In this issue, we tell just a few of their stories.

– Richard Linton, Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

I Am CALS: Bob Patterson’s 50 Years On Campus

He’s legendary for toting corn stalks around campus and for being one of the most effective, caring and helpful faculty members in CALS. Since beloved professor Bob Patterson began teaching in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in 1968, he has trusted to three principles as his guides: empathy, gratitude and trust.

NC State CALS Professor Bob Patterson 50 years

Turning Tragedy Into Triumph

When a high school rodeo accident left her paralyzed from the neck down, Animal Science’s Kelly Blanton was still determined to attend her dream college but broadened her focus to help others. By combining her love of animals with her passion for the counseling that shone through her dark time, Kelly is now a dual-disciplinary powerhouse.

Rhinos On The Resume

When wildlife conservation students step off the plane into South Africa, they walk into long days, hard work and a pre-veterinary experience like no other. Associate Professor Shweta Trivedi leads one of NC State’s most unique and hands-on study abroad programs: 15 days of full-time work alongside a wildlife veterinarian on his rounds across Limpopo Province.

Shweta Trivedi CALS Rhino Study Abroad Vet School

Sister Act

Led by eldest sisters (and CALS grads) Brooke and Catherine, the five Harward sisters run their growing independent beef operation from their family farm in western North Carolina. They work together every day, love each other fiercely and finish each other’s sentences. And they are one of the most competitive families on the NC show circuit.

The Harward Sisters, business owners and two CALS grads

The Business Of Sausage

Two North Carolina farmers wanted to merge two of their biggest commodities into a unique new product. In order to help, a food science class transformed into a team of entrepreneurs. And a new brand of pork sausage was born, juicy and bursting with chunks of sweet potato. After graduation, students found that the real-world experience wowed employers (and the sausage is delicious).